SEFSC Atlantic surveys 1992

K.D. Mullin and R. Ford, NOAA Southeast Fisheries Science Center

An Atlantic Ocean ship survey was conducted by NOAA Southeast Fisheries Science Center in 1992 to study marine mammals and pelagic apex predators. The primary area of operation was in the Blake Plateau area of the Atlantic Ocean between 28 degree and 35 degree North latitude and from the coastal boundary to the Exclusive Economic Zone.
During 28 survey days, at least 10 cetacean species were sighted, including:
1) Atlantic spotted dolphin
2) Cuvier's beaked whale
3) Dwarf sperm whale
4) False killer whale
5) Pantropical spotted dolphin
6) Pygmy killer whale
7) Globicephala sp.
8) Sperm whale
9) Spinner dolphin
10) Standard Bottlenose dolphin
The dataset is accompanied by transect data which is provided as a separate file.

The purpose of this survey is to examine the distribution and estimate abundance of cetaceans in U.S. waters.
Specific objectives of this survey are:
1. Complete a line-transect survey of the study area for marine mammals during the daylight hours, following prescribed course transects.
2. Deploy longline fishing gear during the evening hours for the propose of catching and sampling pelagic apex predators (primarily swordfish, other billfish, tunas, and sharks).
3. Collect associated oceanographic data.

[2020-09-30] The following invalid species names were corrected according to the Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS).
Bonaparte's Gull: Larus philadelphia (176839) => Chroicocephalus philadelphia (824040)
Bridled Tern: Sterna anaethetus (176897) => Onychoprion anaethetus (824104)
Laughing Gull: Larus atricilla (176837) => Leucophaeus atricilla (824079)
Red Phalarope: Phalaropus fulicaria (554376) => Phalaropus fulicarius (176734)
Royal Tern: Sterna maxima (176922) => Thalasseus maximus (824142)
Sooty Tern: Sterna fuscata (176894) => Onychoprion fuscatus (824105)

Overview

The dataset contains information necessary to locate the species sightings observed in the survey. The structure of the dataset was defined by NOAA Southeast Fisheries Science Center. Note that the dataset is a subset of the larger, complete dataset collected in the survey which includes environmental information. The columns before LineNo are applied to the shapefile only. The following information is not included in the dataset but will be found in the master data. For details, please contact NOAA Southeast Fisheries Science Center. Track; Speed; GPS Status; Observers; Wind direction; Weather; Sea state; Swell; Visibility; Turbidity; Sunlight; Water depth; Water color; Water temperature; Sighting angle; Effort status.

Attributes described below represent those in the original dataset provided by the provider.
All attributes are included in the downloadable file (CSV or ESRI File Geodatabase) for "Complete Set of Dataset".

Attributes in dataset

Attribute (table column)	Description
lineno	Line number
card	Card
cruiseno	Cruise No.
date	Date of the observation
time	Time of the observation
latitude	Latitude in decimal degrees
longitude	Longitude in decimal degrees
track	Track No
speed	Speed
gpswarning	GPS Warning
leftobs	Left observer
rightobs	Right observer
datarcdr	definition not provided
wind	Wind
weather	Weather code
seastate	Sea state
swell	Swell
visibility	Visibility
versunpos	Vertical sun position
radsunpos	Radial sun position
watercolor	Water color
sightingno	Sighting No.
shipid	Ship ID
oneffort	Indicator of on or off effort
watertemp	Water temperature in degree Celsius
waterdepth	Water depth
spcode	Species code defined by provider
species_tsn	ITIS Taxonomic Serial Number added by OBIS-SEAMAP
species	Species name
scientific	Species scientific name.
herdsize	Herd size
calves	Number of calves
ontransect	Indicator of on or off transect
cookiecttr	Cookie cutter
remora	Remora
glare	Glare
gpclass	GP class
behavior	Behavior code
cuetime	Cue time
cuelat	Cue latitude
cuelon	Cue longitude
obspos	Observer position
obscode	Observation code
source	Source
reticle	Reticle
distance	Distance
bearing	Bearing
wdepthm	Water depth in meters
geom	Geometry field added by OBIS-SEAMAP
oid	Unique ID number (generated by OBIS-SEAMAP)